


Let’s Playtest: Until Dawn

by MDST3559014



Category: Black Mirror (TV), Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Horror, Movie: Scream (1996), Multi, Possible Character Death, Slasher Films, Video & Computer Games, Virtual Reality, Wendigo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22810996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MDST3559014/pseuds/MDST3559014
Summary: Ready to see some teens battle for survival? Shortly after the cover up of the death of Cooper Redfield (Black Mirror) at the hands of famous gaming company SaitoGemu, company owner Shou Saito sets his sights on revamping the legendary horror game “Until Dawn”. The classic horror game, despite its popularity, had not received a sequel since its release in 2015. Now 2031, SaitoGemu recruits a group of teens they believe to be like the original character to play their new virtual reality game “Until Dawn: Part 2” as actual independent characters that make their own decisions. However, things become drastically complicated when the in-game teens adopt their new lives, and forget that they are in a game...
Kudos: 4





	Let’s Playtest: Until Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be told from the POVs of multiple characters. Therefore, the tone and content of their sections will be completely reflective of the characters themselves and will not reflect the beliefs of the author.
> 
> Characters are loosely based on the characters of the Until Dawn video game (and some share their names), but they are not meant to be carbon copies of them, as will be explained. The original Until Dawn characters will not appear, save for some references and alluding. The original Playtest characters will show up, but not in any major roles.
> 
> If you’re an Until Dawn fan and don’t know about the Playtest episode of Black Mirror (I recommend watching it) all you need to know is that the gaming company SaitGemu sends a guy named Cooper into a prototype virtual reality horror game (that seems very real) to test it and he ends up dying because of a technical issue.
> 
> If you’re a Black Mirror fan and don’t know about the video game Until Dawn (I recommend playing it or watching a playthrough), it is basically like a teen slasher film in game form, where you make decisions that determine the fate of your characters. You are provided hints via futuristic totems as you go.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not have perfect knowledge of either the Until Dawn universe or the Black Mirror universe.

“You’re our Sam, understood?”

Six game developers stare back at me curiously from the other side of the room as I shift uncomfortably in my seat, trying to process what had just been explained to me. I nod in response, and they excitedly begin to talk amongst themselves again, as if I were not there. I sit quietly, waiting for them to finish and mulling over this new information in my head. Why am I the Sam? How am I Sam?

The idea did not make much sense to me. I was one of the few game testers selected that had actually played the original Until Dawn game, so I actually knew what it meant to be the Sam. Save for Mike, this effectively meant that I was the game’s main character, destined to survive at least until the end, a fan favorite, and in many cases the game’s hero. However, the concept of being such a character: the main character, the important character, the hero, were all foreign to me, and I wondered if my lack of ability to step up and be who they apparently think I am may negatively impact the quality of the game. I don’t want it to be my bad decisions that cause character deaths in the test run. But then again, it isn’t supposed to really matter if we lose the game or not, the developers just want to observe what kinds of decisions we make. Nonetheless, I could not shake the feeling that my role as a character that is supposed to act as the hero would not fair well. 

When SaitoGemu issued a nationwide personality survey meant to choose which teens would spend a portion of their summer playing a virtual reality horror game in a secluded facility for a $1000 stipend, I took the survey because I loved the old first game and needed the money. I had no expectations because I am largely used to being overlooked, and expected my application to be the same. Since middle school, my family had given me the nickname “AnonKanon” (now my gamer tag), which was just the upgraded version of my former elementary nickname, “shadow”. These were fitting nicknames. Point being, I blend into the background very well, no one ever hears me, and sometimes they don’t see me either. And when they do see me, there’s nothing but the silhouette of what an actual person would be. And yet, somehow, my personality survey answers not only made SaitoGemu want me, but also made them think I was a heroine. A Sam.

“Ready to meet the other players?”

I snap out of my thoughts, and the developers have stopped talking amongst themselves and are looking at me again, invitingly. It is obvious that one of them had asked me the question, but I was too in my thoughts to notice which one it was. 

“Sure,” I respond. And while usually I am not a fan of meeting new people, I found myself excited and meaning it this time. I really did want to meet the players, not to talk to them, but just to observe them. As a fan of the original game, I wanted to see who was chosen to represent which characters. I imagined that the Mike was feeling a similar burden as I was. I wanted to ask him if he felt the pressure too. I wouldn’t dare, though. I do not talk to people unless I have to.

I am escorted by a woman named Katie, whose presence immediately makes me feel more comfortable after leaving the briefing room, where the team of developers often spoke as if I was not there, yet remembered to use jargon that was clearly intended to keep me out of the loop when they spoke on certain topics. I was also vastly aware of the manner in which they spoke about me; as if they had developed me at this gaming studio themselves. Despite their smiling faces, something about them felt cold and culcaring. Katie, while also cold, was at least upfront about her lack of interest in me and kept our encounter strictly business.

As we walked through the hallways of the vast company building, the design seemed to solidify the idea that I truly was in the UK and no longer in America. I had only been in the UK for three days, and I spent the entirety of that time living in the SaitoGemu building and preparing to play the game. I had no choice but to focus on the briefings of information given to me because all distractions were confiscated the first day, including my cellphone and laptop. After my belongings were taken and transferred elsewhere, I signed a contract which, of course, I didn’t read. Then I underwent a small procedure where Katie inserted a device she called a “mushroom” into the back of my neck. I am not sure if the mushroom is removable, and I was too afraid to ask. From there, we did two “immersion tests” using the complimentary headset. In the first test, I played a game of giant tetris, where I could see the three dimensional shapes falling from the sky, and could “touch” them and move them around. In the second more experiential test, I was taken to a separate location; a house that was designed to be haunted for another game that the company was developing. True to haunted house movie style, my virtual reality experiences caused me to visualize ghosts and spiders and hear and feel things that weren’t really there. It was chilling, but I still needed the money and wasn’t gonna quit there.

We finally reach the room where the other players are located, and I suddenly stop thinking about my time so far in SaitoGemu long enough to realize that I am shaking nervously.


End file.
